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Biggles Fails to Return/plot
Chapter 1: Where is Biggles? Algy gets a notice promoting him to Squadron Leader and giving charge of 666 Sqn. From this, he surmises that Biggles, supposedly on leave, must have gone on a secret mission and had "failed to return". He, Bertie and Ginger head for the Air Ministry where they drag the truth out of Air Commodore Raymond. Biggles, it seemed, had been sent on a mission to fetch the Princess Marietta, an anti-Fascist Sicilian nobelwoman, who was escaping from the Italian secret police and hiding in Monaco at the Villa Valdora, residence of Gaspard Zabani, a wealthy Italian banker. Zabani had betrayed the princess to the police but Biggles rescued her anyhow and almost succeeding in getting away. Biggles had reached the getaway plane with the Princess hotly pursued by the Italian secret police. Henri Ducoste, Biggles' pilot, saw Biggles hit and on the ground. There was no time to pick him up. Under heavy fire and believing that the Princess was already on board, Henri took off. When he got to England, he found to his surprise that the Princess, whom he definitely saw on board the aircraft, was also missing. Air Commodore Raymond believes that Biggles was either dead or captured. However he reluctantly agrees to Algy, Ginger and Bertie mounting a rescue operation if they could come up with a reasonable plan. Chapter 2: The Reasonable Plan Algy, Ginger and Bertie work out a plan which Raymond approves. They would go to Monaco in various disguises: Algy as a recently released French P.O.W., Bertie as a wandering troubadour, and Ginger as a Spanish onion seller. They would keep in touch but work separately to find Biggles. Henri Ducoste agrees to be their pilot for insertion and extraction. Chapter 3: The Road to Monte Carlo Henri flies Algy, Ginger and Bertie to Monaco. As a Monegasque and expert on the local terrain, he had suggested that they insert by parachute into the valley of La Turbie just above Monaco. Chapter 4: The Writing on the Wall According to Raymond, Biggles had a secret arrangement with him where he would messages on the wall in blue pencil at two preselected locations. Ginger proceeds to the nearest one of the two, the Quai de Plaisance in the Condamine at Monaco. There he finds the cryptic message: "CHEZ ROSSI. PERNOD." Ginger makes his way to Chez Rossi. After ordering lunch from the surly looking waiter/owner Mario Rossi, Ginger notices a card advertising the "Pernod" drink. On the back is more blue pencil writing: "Villa V -- Heil Hitler. Mario is a waiter, par excellence." Ginger follows Mario and ends up at the Villa Valdora! Mario creeps into the house and leaves a short while later. Ginger follows and finds Zabani stabbed to death inside. The police arrive and think Ginger has done it! Ginger escapes hastily but the police shoot and wound him. Faint from blood loss, he runs from the scene, and eventually heads up a ramp--what we today call the Rampe Major, emerging on the Place du Palais. He stumbles into a side street. Glancing up he notices it is Rue Mariniere--the street where Henri had told them his mother and sister lives. He finds the address No. 6, Henri's house, and collapses just as the door opens in answer to his knock. Chapter 5: Bertie Meets a Friend Meanwhile Bertie has also made his way to the Condamine. He spots Ginger but before he can join him, he bumps into Francois Budette, a mechanic who used to look after his racing boat. Francois and his wife warmly welcomes him and Francois offers to make enquiries for him but these are unsuccessful. Bertie goes to Chez Rossi himself and hears gunshots and spots Mario coming back washing blood off his hands. Returning to Francois' house, Bertie hears the news that Zabani has been stabbed and that the police are looking for Ginger. Chapter 6: Strange Encounters Bertie knows that Mario is the real killer and goes to Chez Rossi to try to try to talk to Mario but Mario knocks him out. Chapter 7: Good Samaritans Bertie comes to and finds himself on the Escalier Sainte Devote. Mario must have thrown him there. He makes his way down to the Quai de Plaisance again. He meets a young girl who signals for him to follow her. It turns out to be Jeannette, Henri Ducoste's sister. She takes Bertie to Rue Mariniere where he meets Ginger. Before they can compare notes, the police arrive at the door. Chapter 8: Jock's Bar Algy had proceeded to Nice. The writing on the wall at Jock's bar is not very helpful but climbing into the abandoned shack of the beach bar, he is jumped by Gregori Gordino, chief of the Italian secret police in the area. Gordino is suspicious of Algy and wants to search him but Algy knocks him and another policeman out and escapes. He buys a bicycle and heads for Californie where he discovers that the landing ground has been put out of commission. He then turns up the Moyen Corniche towards Eze. Evading the police, he makes his way to Monaco. Chapter 9: The Girl in the Blue Shawl At the Quai de Plaisance, Algy spots a girl in a blue shawl writing on the wall. Going nearer, he is starled to see the words in blue pencil: "CASTILLON. AU BON CUISINE. MAYDAY." The word "Mayday", with its aviation connotations, must mean that the girl is somehow connected to Biggles. Algy decides to head for Castillon. Chapter 10: Shattering News Over at the Rue Mariniere, Madame Ducoste has bad news: Henri Ducoste had crashed and had been captured and held in the sanatoriumn at Peille. He was due to be taken to Nice and executed as a traitor. While discussing this, Jeannette overhears Ginger and Bertie talking about writing on the wall at the Quai de Plaisance. She had seen a girl in a blue shawl writing the new set of words about Castillon. She then saw a man approach. He pursued the girl for a while and then asked Francois Budette for directions to Castillon. Ginger and Bertie realise the man must be Algy and that he had gone to Castillon, a deserted and runied village up in the mountains. Ginger and Bertie decide to split up. Bertie would follow Algy on to Castillon while Ginger, with his skin and hair darkened with cosmetics, takes Lucille, a borrowed donkey, up to Peille in a desperate attempt to resuce Henri. Chapter 11: The Cats of Castillon Algy takes a bus to Mentone and connects with the Sospel bus which would take him past Castillon. By chance, he is seated next to Mario Rossi, although at this point he had not met him yet. Algy arrives at Castillon and is surprised to see his travelling companion also there.,Before long, Algy is captured by the Princess and Mario and locked up. Chapter 12: Bertie Picks a Lemon Berties looks up Francois Budette. he has momentous news. American and British troops had landed in North Africa and the Germans and Italians had decided to occupy the south of France. The roads were closed for military use only and Francois doubts if Bertie could take th bus to Castillon. However Francois introduces Bertie to a friend who has a truck going up to his farm at St Agnes. From there Bertie could walk the mule tracks to Castillon. Arriving at Castillon, and in a moment of mutual surprise, Bertie comes face to face with Mario Rossi. Mario has a knife but fortunately, Bertie had picked a lemon earlier to quench his thirst and throws it expertly at Mario and follows through with a few swift moves which disarms Mario and knocks him out. The princess turns up and covers Bertie with a gun but Bertie's eccentric mannerisms and way of talking convinces her that he must be English. She orders Mario to free Algy and bring both of them with her. Chapter 13: Pilgrimage to Peille Ginger makes an uneventful if tiring journey to Peille. He arrives just in time to see an ambulance pull in with Italian officers who have come to take Henri away. By dressing up in a white gown, Ginger tricks the gendarme guarding Henri into leaving him and Henri alone and then they make their escape. To delay the pursuit, Ginger steals the ambulance and drives it down a steep road. He loses control and the vehicle runs off into a ravine. Ginger jumps clear in time and makes his way uphill to rejoin Henri. They then set off for Castillon. Chapter 14: Au Bon Cuisine The Princess takes Bertie and Algy to Biggles who identifies them as friends. Biggles tells them what happened to him. At Californie, he had almost got on board Henri's aircraft when he was hit. The princess jumped off to help him and shot the pursuing policemen. She then dragged him into hiding and approached Mario for help. Mario's family had been in royal service and he was now also a member of the local defence service and drove an ambulance. With this vehicle, he conveyed Biggles and the Princess to Castillon where she nursed him back to health. Chapter 15: Conference at Castillon Ginger arrives at Castillon. Henri is ill and needs a doctor. But the German and Italian occupation of the south of France has made any thought of escape overland to Spain all the more difficult. However they see a large number Italian Savoia flying boats descending to land at Monaco and Ginger suggests they could steal one. With Mario's help, Biggles, Ginger and Bertie return to Monaco. They spot a poster announcing that if Henri does not surrender himself to the police without twenty-four hours, his mother and sister would be arrested as hostages and shot. Chapter 16: Biggles Takes Over Biggles decides to split up. Bertie is sent to reconnoitre the Italian flying boats. In the meantime he and Ginger steal two uniforms from among the many Italian officers who were bathing in the sea nearby. Using Mario's ambulance, they drive to Rue Mariniere where they pretend to be Italian officers who have come to arrest Madame Ducoste and Jeannette. Everyone is brought safely back to the hideout in Castillon. Chapter 17: Plan for Escape Biggles develops an elaborate plan for escape. Mario would drive Biggles and Ginger into Monaco and then return to pick up the rest of the party and take them down to Cap Martin. At Monaco Biggles would call on Fraoncois Budette and ask him to take Bertie's boat out to Cap Martin to embark the party. Meanwhile Biggles and Ginger would steal a Savoia flying boat and rendezvous with the boat at a point three miles off Cap Martin. Chapter 18: How the Rendezvous was Kept This plan is executed smoothly without any serious hitches except for a close shave when Biggles when taking off almost collides with a ship entering the harbour. Nonetheless, by the time the aircraft arrives at Cap Martin, the alarm had been raised. Searchlights sweep the area and some pursuing Italian ships being firing. The party is however picked up and the aircraft departs safely. Chapter 19: Farewell to France However Biggles soon discovers that the flying boat is low on fuel. They cannot make England, so he sets course for Algeria where the American and British troops have landed. The crossing is uneventful until near the end when they are pursued by a flight of three Hurricanes. However Biggles manages to identify himself in time. The party reaches Algeria and is taken to Algiers and finally to England. Everyone is glad to be home especially Ginger who asks for Biggles for some leave so that he can spend time with Jeannette. Category:Plot summaries